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by Daniel D. Ester
1 can no longer conceal an
incident that occurred in August,
during the first week of classes. I
was approaching my vehicle
when I spotted the dubious ticket
under my wiper. I was still
suffering from Neo-Semester
Daze Syndrome and my mind was
trying to calculate just exactly
how the entire summer break had
gone by within what seemed like
a three-day period. I knew I
wasn't dreaming (because I wasn't
naked) so 1 had to accept the cold
truth that school had once again
started.
When I got to my truck, there
was a ticket under the wiper.
Before I so much as touched the
ticket, 1 circled my truck and
attempted to ascertain what I
might have done wrong. Was I
parked illegally? No. Had my
inspection or registration sticker
expired? No. Had I written a
nasty column about Police &
Safety lately? No.
So I retrieved the ticket,
thinking perhaps it was just a
welcome back note. Well wasn't
that a stupid thought. Instead, it
was, "Welcome back to Behrend!
Just a friendly reminder, you are
parked in a non-space, and please
don't park here again. And to
gently help you remember, you
now owe Penn State 11 bucks.
Have a nice day, and thank you
for shopping at Police & Safety,
where our motto is: We Are The
Almighty Supreme Gods of the
Universe.”
I re-circled my truck, and
discovered that I WAS parked in
a real live space, and there were
no signs that said Anti-Space.
So, not being the type of person
to mindlessly open his wallet and
fork out money just because the
Penn State Swat Team violated
by John Rosomondo
Collegian Columnist
Why is Liberalism such a dirty
word? Liberalism is a dirty word
precisely because it attempts to
create a world in which human
beings may decide for themselves
what is true and untrue.
Ultimately Liberalism seeks to
overthrow any notion of
transcendant divine truth.
The New Age and Humanistic
proponents desire to establish an
amoral civil religion in which
human beings are free to do what
they please because they are their
own gods. History has repeatedly
shown the results of such
thinking, namely war, unbridled
greed, lust, and violence.
From the very beginning
Liberalism has resulted in
unspeakable acts of cruelty. The
French Revolution was a clear
example of what Liberalism is
capable of doing. The
revolutionaries were motivated by
liberals such as Rousseau,
Voltaire, and Thomas Paine.
Their aim was to establish a state
based upon the ideals of liberty,
equality, and fraternity, and yet it
deteriorated into an orgy of
violence against the very
institutions that had made France
great.
Canada’s soc
by Adam Levenstein
Collegian Staff
On October 25, Canadian workers
shut down Toronto. So what?
Toronto is the fourth largest city
in North America. Approximately
1 million people stayed home, and
hundreds of thousands picketed the
city. It has been estimated that 80
percent of Toronto businesses were
closed for business.
This came after Ontario
government, led by Premier Mike
Harris, began instituting cutbacks
in all areas of Canada’s social
programs. This includes welfare,
the health care system, education,
and public-sector workers.
Not coincidentally, Harris is
known in some circles as '‘Newt of
the North.”
There was little mentioned in US
newspapers, on television, or on
the radio. Canada lies along this
country's northern border, and
Toronto is a short drive away.
Yet Americans (meaning US
*' -"ember 7. 1996
tries to
my vehicle with a piece of paper,
I drove over to the Police &
Safety Fort and politely asked the
Desk Sergeant if 1 might speak
with the General.
All jokes and nasty remarks
aside, the person with whom I
spoke was very polite and
attentive. He didn't reverse my
ticket, though. I could file an
appeal, he explained, and it
would be reviewed by the Council
of Student Nazis.
To make a long boring story
short, I ended up paying the $ll.
But here's what I don't
understand: Why are appeals
handled by an internal Penn State
mechanism? Isn't that sort of
thing supposed to be handled by a
magistrate?
The bottom line is this: When
you drive onto Behrend property,
you've entered the Sovereign
Realm of the Empire of the Penn
State University Kingdom, and
they basically have you by the
reproductive unit.
I've once again managed to
deviate from the real purpose of
my column (who'd of thunk it).
I'm here to review yet another of
the Division of Science Seminar
Series which was October 22. Dr.
G. William Baxter presented,
"Cellular Automata Models of
Granular Materials."
Baxter is an Assistant Professor
of Physics at Behrend College.
He earned his Ph.D. in Physics
from Duke and performed his post
doctorate work at the University
of California at San Diego.
As for why Baxter came from
sunny California to the barren
wastelands of Erie, no one will
ever know.
Baxter's lecture was quite
interesting. He shared his
research which deals with
modeling the flow of granular
materials such as grain or rice.
These materials are, of course,
dirty word
Most importantly the liberal
revolutionaries hatred of the
absolute norms of the Roman
Catholic faith resulted in
ferocious persecutions against the
Church. Including one in which
my priestly ancestor lost his head.
The Roman Catholic Church
has frequently been the target of
Liberalism because she mandates
that there are certain ineffiable
truths that cannot change.
Liberalism is an ideology solely
based upon subjectivity and
irrationality therefore it cannot
maintain any form of order. If any
form of order manages to be
established through liberalism it
. will fall because there is not any
immutable truth to preserve the
order.
If truth is subjective then there
is absolutely no way liberalism
can maintain institutions that will
stand the test of time. The very
individualism advocated by
liberals of all stripes ultimate
results in the dissolution of any
bonds that hold a society together.
Human beings are not infinitely
perfectable as liberals maintain
because they will always serve
their own interests. It is purely
delusionary to believe that
personal freedom is the highest
good because human beings
always will misuse their freedoms
residents), for some reason, arc
virtually unaware of Canada’s
existence, much less the political
activity within. For instance, ask
yourself: Who is the Canadian
Prime Minister? Chances are you
do not know the answer.
Hint: Jean Chretien.
The same cutbacks are currently
under attack in the United States.
Welfare “reform” is the cry of most,
if not all, politicians.
Yet most people are unaware of
what “workfare” consists of: welfare
recipients will be forced to work
previously Sl2 per hour Union jobs
for rent and food, no more. They
will be living hideously below the
poverty line, only now they will be
placed at the disposal of “generous”
corporations.
Health care is under attack in
both countries. In the United
Slates most of the health care
system is privatized, yet the
cutbacks go on in the form of
corporate “downsizing” and attacks
on Medicarc/Mcdicaid.
park
perishable products, and they
must be stored in huge silos and
then dispensed via funnel-shaped
hoppers when they're ready to be
transported.
One thing that particularly
struck me about Baxter was his
enthusiasm toward his work. He
came prepared and showed good
visual aides to help demonstrate
what he does, and he spoke
without the technical nonsense
that typically bores people into a
coma. After having interviewed
Baxter, I would definitely say he's
the one you want to pick if you're
trying to decide which physics
class to take.
Although I'm sure most of you
would rather bow down and cry
out, "Master, I worship thee!"
every time a Police & Safety
officer walks past than sit through
a physics seminar, I nevertheless
rate Baxter with the prestigious
and highly-pursued score of
NNNN (that's four Newtons, my
non-physics friends).
Before I end this column, I
hereby beg for mercy from Police
& Safety for my treasonous
remarks. I promise to donate to
the Police & Safety Ball, and I
will be very careful that I don't
park in an anti-space. Perhaps
someone could send me an email
(ddelo4@psu.edu) and tell me if
there would be a tremendous
explosion if a parking space
collided with an anti-parking
space?
Don't miss the First Fall
Colloquium, "The Dynamics of
Life: An Introduction to
Mathematical Biology,"
presented by Dr. Richard Bertram,
Dr. Carl Panetta, and Dr. Joseph
Paullet, Thursday, November 7,
3:00 p.m. in the Reed Lecture
Hall. Refreshments will be
provided, and you'll want to show
up at 2:30 p.m. for the Social
Hour!
and ultimately complete anarchy
will result. Freedom without the
constraints of order and justice
will result in every person's
personal freedom infringing upon
the freedoms of others in society.
St. Paul said it best,"All things
are permissable, but not all are
beneficial."
We cannot allow ourselves to
be seduced by the false promises
fo liberalism. History has shown
that if a society abandons the
wisdom passed down from
previous generations, we will end
up destroying that society.
Change cannot be sudden and
radical because such change
often will create problems far
worse than existed previously.
Great societies such as Egypt,
Greece, Rome, and China
remained great because they were
driven by common goals, ideas
and a faithful respect for tradition.
It was not diversity that brought
power and strength, but unity and
a desire to conserve all that made
that society great.
All cultures are the results of
generations of development and
perfection. Change can be a good
thing as long as it can be carried
out in a responsible manner that
is faithful to the knowledge of the
past.
al problems
In Canada, however, the health
care system is nationalized;
everyone has access to the system
regardless of income. Under Harris’
cutbacks, 16 hospitals in Toronto
alone will be closed. Do not be too
hasty in considering yourself lucky;
hospitals have been closing all over
the US.
Student loans are being cut
severely. Recent bills in congress
(the remnants of the “Contract with
America”) have cut student loans,
work-study programs (as if it is not
hard enough to find a job), as well
as funding for public schools and
universities.
The Ontario government is in
following our government’s
footsteps; cutbacks in education are
including tuition hikes, reductions
in student loans, cuts in teachers’
salaries and layoffs of school
employees, among others.
My point is that even though
Canada is rarely considered by
Americans, its citizens arc facing
the same situation as US citizens.
Roommates and living
by Joneatra Henry
Collegian Staff
It is almost the end of the
semester and many students are
trying to figure out how to get rid
of their current roommate. The
average person has not shared a
living capacity with someone they
do not know before entering
college.
Roommates may be of a different
race, background, or religion.
Sometimes it is scary to have to
share with someone who is
different, especially living quarters.
Before coming to college, one
may dream of the ideal roommate.
But upon the roommate's arrival,
the person might be shocked to
have someone different than who
was imagined. Everyone is
different, but some of us see the
differences before the similarities.
College is a great place to educate
oneself academically and socially.
The first social problem many
students may bee is trying to get
along with a new roommate.
Students may put up barriers,
avoiding the new roommate instead
of trying to overcome the obstacle
of differences. Instead, try these ten
basic steps to get along with a
roommate.
Roommates should have mutual
respect for each other. Roommates
should compile lists of likes and
dislikes and, from there, create
some rules that meet both of their
needs. Roommates should avoid
stereotyping. One way to do this is
by means of communication.
The second step is for the
roommates to compile a list of
likes and dislikes. The lists will
not match exactly, but they will
show each of them the roommates'
interests and will help each of the
roommates to become more
comfortable with each other.
Just because one roommate docs
not like something that the other
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the difference is simple; working
people in Canada have yet to be
fooled into thinking that the
cutbacks are good for them. There
is nothing to be gained by an
uneducated child, nor is there
anything to be gained by someone
who has no access to health care.
Working people and students in
the United States should emulate
those in Canada. Believe it or not,
the same social programs that are
now being cut were once fought
for.
These programs were not given
to people by the graciousness of the
government; working people took
to the streets and demanded that the
working day be lowered from
twelve hours to ten, and finally to
eight. Working people fought for
every social benefit that is now
being cut - and more.
Take to the streets! Fight for
what has been fought fo.! Changes
are made in the streets, not in the
ballot boxes.
roommate does, it does not mean
that he has to eliminate this like.
The best way to solve this problem
is by compromising, which is the
third step for helping new
roommates get along.
After viewing each of the lists,
the roommates can now come up
with some basic rules to help keep
peace within the living space.
Some of the things that roommates
usually have a problem with are
quiet hours, company curfew,
smoking, and cleaning. These next
rules should be used to try and fit
each of their needs.
One rule, which is the fourth
step, in getting along with a
roommate is agreeing on a quiet or
study hour. In college, roommates
have different schedules. It is
important that each roommate
respect the other's right to have
quiet or study time. Roommates
should agree upon a time that is
suitable for both of them to study.
Doing this enhances the
roommates' friendship.
A fifth factor that will help
roommates get along belter is to
establish a company curfew. Few
roommates will have the same
friends, and fewer want the same
company in their room all day,
everyday. For this reason,
roommates should set a company
curfew which could easily be the
same as quiet hours.
In addition to the quiet hours at
night, roommates should also be
considerate of each other in the
morning. One roommate does not
have to be absolutely quiet in the
morning, but it would help not to
make excess noise.
In addition to noise, smoking is a
problem for roommates, regardless
of who is the smoker. People who
smoke believe that they have the
right to smoke, while non-smokers
believe that they have the right to
clean air.
If one roommate smokes, he/she
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should not assume the other
roommate is in agreement with this
or vice versa. A way that some
college students solve this problem
is for the smoker to smoke outside
the building. The smoker can still
smoke and the non-smoker is not
bothered by it.
It is also good to have a rule
about cleaning. One roommate
may be a "neat freak" while the
other may be a slob. It will help if
the roommates make rules about
dishes, garbage, laundry, and
making the beds.
Without the commitment of best
friends, one way for roommates to
become comfortable with each other
is to talk. It would be hard to get
along with a roommate without
communication.
Roommates should avoid
stereotyping. No one wants to be
stereotyped, even if they seem to fit
into a certain category.
Roommates should also know
about each other if they want to get
along better.
During the first couple of days,
new roommates will find that they
do not know what to say or how to
act. The first way to break the ice
is to ask questions about each
other's background. Once the
roommates become familiar with
each other, the communication
lines will become open.
Respect, compromise, and
communication are the three most
important rules for getting along
with a roommate. Respect and
communication will help each
roommate to avoid stereotyping.
The list of likes and dislikes, and a
little compromise from both
roommates, will help create rules
about study hours, company
curfew, smoking, and cleaning. By
following these ten helpful hints,
roommate °hould be able to get
along better.
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